Refrigerators do an excellent job of keeping food cold and thus prolonging food's useful shelf life. They have greatly improved our quality of life while helping protect our health. Modern refrigerators are full of technological innovations such as fully customizable interiors, automatic water and ice dispensers, electronic touch screen controls, and the like.
However, one (1) feature of refrigerators that has remained largely unchanged since the first generation of refrigerators is their interior lighting systems. Refrigerator interior lights always come on at full brightness regardless of the time of day. Not only is this an energy waste but it also subjects the user to somewhat “blinding” levels of light at night. This is especially annoying to those who may be suffering from a hangover, a migraine, or otherwise affected by a bright light and are simply trying to retrieve a cold beverage or a late night snack.
Accordingly, there exists a need for refrigerator light control systems that control the interior lighting levels of refrigerators and which modify those interior lighting levels based on the time of day. The development of such refrigerator light control systems would alleviate problems associated with refrigerator interior lighting. Such refrigerator light control systems would provide for an enhanced refrigerator usage experience. Preferably, such refrigerator light control systems could be implemented at low cost and a manner that is easy to use and effective.